Four Cheese Baked Penne

Who likes pasta?  I do!  Who likes cheese?  I do!  Who likes four cheese pasta from Self Magazine, so it’s somewhat light and healthy?  I do!  I do!

I actually made this recipe for the first time a few months ago, but I recently made it again and remembered that I never blogged about it.  How silly of me! 

This pasta is creamy, delicious and comes together fairly quickly.  By using reduced fat cheeses, it’s lighter than most pastas and when paired with a green salad, you’ve got a delicious and healthy meal.  Plus, it feeds a lot.  Both times that I’ve made this, I’ve cut the recipe in half and we’ve had leftovers for 2 days.  Surprise, surprise…when making this I actually didn’t make any substitutions!  Well, except I used dried parsley, instead of fresh parsley because why would I just buy fresh parsley…what would I use it for besides this?  Anyway, I recommend this yummy and cheesy pasta, if you’re looking for a lighter pasta option.

Enjoy!

 

Ingredients.

 

Hot out of the oven.

Ready to eat.

Four Cheese Baked Penne, by Self.com

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups small-curd lowfat cottage cheese
• 1 1/4 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella, divided
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 pound whole-wheat penne
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 can (15 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 1 can (8 oz) no-salt-added tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan

PREPARATION

1. Heat oven to 400°.

2. Combine cottage cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella, ricotta and parsley in a bowl.

3. Cook pasta until tender but still firm; drain.

4. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.

5. Add garlic; cook, stirring, 30 seconds more.

6. Add tomatoes, sauce, oregano, rosemary, salt, pepper flakes and pepper.

7. Bring to a boil; reduce heat; simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 10 minutes.

8. Add pasta; turn off heat. Stir in cheese-parsley mixture.

9. Coat a 9" x 13" glass baking dish with cooking spray; transfer pasta mixture to dish. Top with remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella and Parmesan.

10. Bake until heated through and cheese melts, 30 minutes.

Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup

Hola amigos!  For Christmas, I got a new cookbook called, “Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2.”  It has a bunch of delicious sounding recipes from places such as Applebees’s, Macaroni Grill, Olive Garden, Outback and Chili’s.  There’s even a website that the book is based on.  Last week, Jeremy picked out a recipe to make for dinner and he decided on Chili’s Enchilada Soup.

Since we live in Po-dunk, USA and don’t have a lot of chain-restaurants, we visit Chili’s often and I can’t say that I ever remember seeing a chicken enchilada soup on their menu.  Have you?  Maybe it’s because I don’t really look at the soups there.  I usually look at the burgers or the chicken fajita pita because that’s what makes me think of Chili’s.  Anyway…

A main component of this soup in cheese…but not real cheese…Velveeta cheese.  I have mixed feeling about Velveeta.  First of all, it comes in a box.  What kind of cheese comes in a box!?  Secondly, it’s kind of rubbery.  What kind of cheese is rubbery!?  Lastly, it’s “pasteurized cheese product.”  Not just cheese, but “cheese product.”  That creeps me out a bit.  But oh well, it’s not like I eat it everyday…or even more than once a year, for that matter. 

Beside the Velveeta, this soup was pretty good!  It’s thick and cheesy and really tastes like enchiladas!  We cut the recipe in half, since it’s just the two of us and that still gave us enough leftovers for lunch the following day.  So, if you like cheese and you like enchiladas, I’d highly recommend that you try out this soup…or just go to Chili’s and taste it there.

Enjoy!

Ingredients.

  

Topped with crushed tortilla chips and green onion.

It’s good!

Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup, by Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2

Ingredients

• 1 tbs vegetable oil
• 1lb skinless, boneless chicken breast
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 1 cup masa harina (corn flour)
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup enchilada sauce
• one 16 oz box of Velveeta, diced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin

Directions

1. Add 1 tbs oil to a large pot over medium heat.  Add chicken breast to pot and brown for 4-5 minutes per side.  Set chicken aside.
2. Add onion and garlic to pot and saute over medium heat for about 2 minutes, or until onion begins to become translucent.  Add chicken broth.
3. Combine masa harina with 2 cups of water in a medium bowl and whisk until blended.  Add masa harina mixture to pot with onion, garlic and broth.
4. Add remaining water, enchilada sauce, cheese and spices to pot and bring mixture to a boil.
5. Shred the chicken into small, bite-size pieces and add it to the pot.  Reduce heat and simmer soup for 30-40 minutes or until thick.
6. Serve soup in cups or bowls and garnish with shredded cheese, crumbled tortilla chips and/or a spoonful of your favorite salsa or pico de gallo.

Makes approximately 12 servings.

***By the way, if you have a dog be sure to stop by my other blog because I’m having a “Dog-gone GIVEWAY!”  Enter by Wednesday, January 27th.

Winner, Winner, Mac & Cheese Dinner!

Sorry I’m a day late with the results of the GIVEAWAY!  I was going to post this yesterday when we got home from California, but Diesel and I were tired, so we decided to take a nap, while Jeremy went to work…and yea…that was the end of that.

So, I had a total of 19 entries.  According to Random.org, the lucky winner is…

#11 Michele P., who will be using this apron and measuring spoons to make tamales and cookies!  Yum, yum!  Congratulations Michele…I’ll be sending you an email today.  Thanks for all who entered my GIVEAWAY.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to have more in the future.  Now, on to today’s recipe!

This is an easy and delicious recipe for macaroni and cheese from Cooking Light.  It’s a lighter version of mac and cheese, due to the reduced fat cheese and the skim milk in the recipe, but you’d never know that it was “light,” because it’s creamy, cheesy and bacony!  The only change I made was I added 4 slices of bacon, instead of 2 because come on…seriously…only 2 pieces of bacon in 6 servings?!  That’s NOT enough, if you ask me!  Pair this Bacon Mac with a side salad and you’ve got a delicious, healthy and easy meal. 

Enjoy!

Ingredients.

Hot, out of the oven.

 

Mmmm, cheesy!

Bacon Mac, by Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 3 1/4  teaspoons  salt, divided
• 12  ounces  strozzapreti or penne pasta
• 4  teaspoons  all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2  cups  skim milk, divided
• 2  cups  finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/4  cup  sliced green onions
• 1  teaspoon  hot sauce
• 1/4  teaspoon  pepper
• 2  slices center-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
• Cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Bring 6 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil. Add pasta; cook 8 minutes or until al dente; drain.
3. Combine flour and 1/2 cup milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add 1 cup milk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; let stand 4 minutes or until it cools to 155°. Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, onions, hot sauce, pepper, and bacon; stir. Add pasta; toss. Spoon into a 2-quart broiler-safe dish coated with cooking spray; top with 1/2 cup cheese. Broil 7 minutes.

Alice Springs Chicken

The Alice Springs Chicken from Outback Steakhouse is one of Jeremy’s favorite meals there.  For those of you who have never had it, it’s a grilled chicken breast that is marinated in a honey mustard sauce, topped with mushrooms, bacon and cheese.  I’ll admit…it’s pretty delicious and probably has a million calories in it! 

In selecting our meals for the week, Jeremy chose Alice Springs Chicken and I told him that he was in charge of finding me a recipe.  Apparently, I trained him well because he found a great recipe from the fabulous, Recipezaar.   This recipe is very, very close to the real thing!  The honey mustard sauce is one of the best I’ve had (and I’m not even a huge fan of honey mustard) and the cheesy bacon on top is amazing.  When I made this tonight, I cut the recipe in half, used light cheese, and left out the mushrooms, since Jerm isn’t a fan of them.  The chicken breasts that I used were huge, so we both only ate half…which means we have leftovers for tomorrow.  Yum!  So, here’s another highly recommended meal from our kitchen.

Enjoy!

Ingredients.

Hot out of the oven.

Served with veggies and au gratin potatoes.  Yum!

Now This is Alice Springs Chicken, by Recipezaar

Ingredients

• 1 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 12 slices bacon, cooked
• 3 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. With an electric mixer combine the mustard, honey, and 1 Tbsp oil, and lemon juice for 1 minute.
2. Pour 1/2 mixture over chicken in a gallon ziplock to marinate in fridge 2-24 hours.
3. Chill remaining marinade to serve with chicken.
4. After marinating chicken, preheat oven to 375°F Put remaining oil in frying pan. Heat and sear chicken on both sides.
5. Transfer chicken to oven safe pan and brush with marinade.
6. Meanwhile in frying pan add butter and sauté mushrooms.
7. Season chicken breasts with salt and peppers.
8. Stack bacon across each breast, spoon mushrooms on each breast and then approx 1/3- 1/2 cup cheese on each.
9. Cover pan with foil and bake 7-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with honey mustard marinade.

Classic Baked Ziti

This a a pretty basic recipe but it's always a delicious one!  Usually when I'm making baked pasta, I just kinda throw together what I think sounds good (spaghetti type ingredients), add some cheese on top and throw it in the oven.  Well, last week Jeremy specifically requested "Baked Ziti," so that set me on a search for the recipe. 

I used a recipe from my old standby, Recipezaar.  Whenever I search for a recipe on that website I always sort by "Rating," and this one was high up on the list.  It's simple, it's cheesy, it's Baked Ziti! :)  I cut the recipe in half since it was just for Jerm and me, and it turned out nicely.  Add some breadsticks and salad and you've got a delicious meal.  Definitely try it out if you're looking for easy and classic dinner. 

Enjoy!

 

Ingredients.

Pre-baked.

Post baked.

Classic Baked Ziti, by Recipezaar

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (32 ounce) jar meatless sauce
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• 1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta, cooked and drained
• 2 (8 ounce) cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large skillet, cook ground beef, onions, and garlic over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes or until beef is browned; stirring frequently.
3. Stir in spaghetti sauce, chicken broth, and oregano.
4. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Stir 1 cup of the sauce into the cooked ziti noodles.
6. Spoon 1/2 of the ziti mixture into a 13x9x2-inch baking dish.
7. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
8. Top with 2 cups sauce, then remaining ziti mixture and remaining sauce.
9. Cover and bake 20 minutes.
10. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
11. Return to oven and bake uncovered for 10 minutes or until heated through.

On a quick side note, I' like to thank finsmom for giving me this lovely award!  I've never gotten a blog award before.  "You like me...you really like me!"  Who knew that people other than my mom, my husband, and my in-laws read my blog! :)  Thank you!!

These are the rules of this award:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.
3. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.
I think 15 is A LOT, so I'm not going to have quite that many...7 is a good number...how about 7?  Therefore, I would like to pass this award on to the following great blogs:

Stacy Runs

Baked Perfection

My Baking Addiction

Iowa Girl Eats

My Kitchen Cafe

Loves to Eat

Latest Addictions

Steak Sandwich

Last night for dinner, Jeremy and I decided to have Philly Cheesesteaks.  I've only eaten a Philly Cheesesteak about twice in my life, but they sure are delicious.  This wasn't exactly a Philly cheesesteak though, it was more just a steak sandwich...but it was yummy and it's the thought that counts right?

For this dinner, I just kinda "winged" it, and I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome.  I'm sure you could add more spices and more ingredients to jazz it up a bit; however, we enjoyed this simple, cheesy steak sandwich, and it'll definitely appear on our menu again.

Enjoy!

 

The cooked steak.

 

Grilled onions.

 

Hot out of the broiler.

 

I served mine open-faced, with fries and fruit.

Steak Sandwich, by Me

Ingredients

• Steak (I used boneless ribeye)
• 1/3 of a large onion, sliced
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Provolone cheese
• Hamburger buns

Directions

1. Season steak with salt and pepper.  Heat olive oil in a frying pan to medium high.  Grill steak until desired wellness.  Remove from pan and set aside.
2. In same pan, grill onions until desired likeness.
3. Place steak and onion on hamburger buns.
4. Top with provolone cheese.
5. Broil for a few minutes until the cheese is melted.

Grown Up Mac and Cheese

As I mentioned before, I love Food Network.  I'll be honest and say that I'm not an extremely huge fan of Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa.  I'll watch her if she's on, but something about her is just odd to me.  Plus, most of her recipes have about one million calories in them...and I usually try to avoid food like that. 

Well, one day the Barefoot Contessa happened to be on and Jeremy and I ended up watching it.  On the episode, she made a "Grown Up Mac and Cheese" that looked pretty dang good!  Jeremy requested that I make so I did. 

This is a delicious Mac and Cheese with some complex flavors from the three different cheeses and the bacon in it.  That's right...there's bacon in it too.  Yum!  The first time I made it, I followed the recipe to a "t," and I found the blue cheese flavor to be a bit strong for my taste.  I recently made it again with a milder blue cheese and it was FANTASTIC!  The bubbly cheese, the crisp bacon and the crunchy breadcrumb topping = simply amazing! 

As usual, I used skim milk and whole wheat flour.  Plus, I didn't feel like making fresh breadcrumbs, so I just used store bought kind, and I cooked the bacon in the microwave like I normally do.  Please note that this recipe say it serves 2 people...yea well, maybe if those 2 people can eat a TON of pasta.  Seriously Ina, what are you thinking?!  I've found that this recipe can very easily feed a group of 4 or at least give me and Jeremy dinner for two days.  Enjoy!

Ingredients.

Prepping.

In the oven cooking.  (I forgot to get a picture before we ate it, so just imagine it looking bubbly and having golden crumbs on top.)

Grown Up Mac and Cheese by Ina Garten

Directions

• 4 ounces thick-sliced bacon
• Vegetable oil
• Kosher salt
• 2 cups elbow macaroni or cavatappi
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
• 3 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated
• 2 ounces blue cheese, such as Roquefort, crumbled
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch nutmeg
• 2 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped basil leaves

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place a baking rack on a sheet pan and arrange the bacon in 1 layer on the baking rack. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the bacon is crisp. Remove the pan carefully from the oven - there will be hot grease in the pan! Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and crumble when it is cool enough to handle.
3. Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.
4. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don't boil it. Melt the butter in a medium pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or 2 more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, blue cheese, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and crumbled bacon and stir well. Pour into 2 individual size gratin dishes.
5. Place the bread slices in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until you have coarse crumbs. Add the basil and pulse to combine. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the top of the pasta. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.